Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Bcranger

Bcranger

Bcranger (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)

29 June 2024

– A checkuser has completed a check on relevant users in this case, and it is now awaiting administration and close.

Suspected sockpuppets

DarisL (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
Tools: Editor interaction utility · Interaction Timeline · SPI Tools

Both the master and sock have an almost exclusive focus on one man: Barry Penner. Edits (and associated edit summaries) on the English Wikipedia and on Wikimedia Commons suggest that both the master and sock may be Penner, or at least purport to be.

The master (Bcranger) made its first edit to Wikipedia in 2012, when it updated Penner's article to insert a reference to a press release and a blog entry on The Vancouver Sun's website. The account has sporadically come back to edit the page, such as in 2014 (adding a facebook page link and adding information on the reasons that the article subject's children were named the way they were), 2015 (adding a headshot of Penner and later inserting puffery into the article), 2021 (adding some references to Penner's own website and rewriting parts of the article), and 2024 (changing the photo and making minor life updates).

The sockpuppet (DarisL) has a similar edit history on the English Wikipedia. Less than one hour after the master made this edit, the sock made its first edit on Wikipedia, and it was to the article on Barry Penner. Over the next fortnight, the sock expanded the article by adding information about Penner and providing context for one of his daughters' names. The sock more or less has given the page small updates over time by linking directly to primary sources, (linking inline to his own law firm, linking to a BC physician's group's website, linking to the website of the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, etc.).

This year, the sockpuppet made an edit to update Penner's page to include information on a new job, and to update the photo of the article's subject while giving an edit summary Updating my photo. After these edits were reverted by Sumanuil, the master restored the sock's edits.

The sockpuppet has also been active on Commons, uploading several photos of Penner as "own work". These include File:Barry Penner portrait.jpg, File:Photo of Barry Penner.jpeg, and File:Photo of Barry Penner, KC.jpg. Likewise, the master uploaded a photograph of Penner (which can be viewed at [1] by a Commons admin), and uploaded File:Barry Penner, KC photo.jpeg locally to the English Wikipedia with full exif data. (One may notice that the File:Barry Penner, KC photo.jpeg uploaded locally by master is the same as File:Photo of Barry Penner.jpeg uploaded on Commons by sock).

Putting this all together, I suspect that there may be some connection between these two accounts. Because WP:BADSOCK prohibits both contributing to the same page or discussion with multiple accounts when the connection between them is not disclosed, and because multiple accounts editing to insert the same content may create an illusion of support for content in the article, the use of these two accounts would violate the sockpuppetry policy if they are connected. For this reason, and with more than reasonable suspicion given the behavioral evidence, I am requesting a CheckUser to investigate if there is technical evidence that the accounts are connected to one another. — Red-tailed hawk _(nest) 04:10, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@AmandaNP: Am I to interpret CU can't tell the difference as meaning that these are Technically indistinguishable? — Red-tailed hawk _(nest) 00:12, 29 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That's fair. But if they are different people, would this just be a case of WP:MEAT? Or am I missing something policy-wise? — Red-tailed hawk _(nest) 03:34, 29 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

While these two are connected, I would urge caution @Red-tailed hawk: at least from the socking side. This looks like a person and employee connected to them, and CU can't tell the difference. -- Amanda (she/her) 05:45, 28 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Red-tailed hawk: In my standard context, yes. -- Amanda (she/her) 01:54, 29 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]